Hey again! :) I know, I knooooow, this is late and I am so SORRY! Real life was hectic this last week, and I just did not get to finish writing this chapter until today. There is one more chapter after this one, and then the story is over...crazy. I will try my very best to publish the last chapter this month, but I cannot promise anything. I can promise you though that this story will definitely get finished! ;)

Also, next up will be Toppling Thomas, which is going to have 25 chapters and is already finished. Toppling Thomas is rather dark, it involves plenty of humiliation, degradation, some rape (but not much, I hate writing it, but it was needed for the storyline), and also a huuuuge amount of H/C. I want to say Toppling Thomas is my masterpiece, I am incredibly happy with how it turned out, and it's also by far the longest story I have ever written (page-wise). I promise to give you a more detailed summary in the next chap! :)

Thank you to my most amazing Gypsyrose98, Anniiieh, and Angel! :) :) :) You guys are the best!

Sorry again that this is so late!

At first, Sirius had no clue how to progress, how to get Tom to follow him outside to the fence. After all, Tom did hate him- he still scowled at him whenever he saw him, he ignored him in the playroom, taking as much of Aurelius' attention as he could.

Sirius brooded over that problem for about one day, and then suddenly, it all became very clear.

He'd have to pretend.

Faking to like Tom, faking to wanting to be his brother, and then it should be easy to convince Tom to follow him anywhere.

The only problem was- how should he start?

I need to wait for an opportunity.

The opportunity presented itself when they were in the playroom yet again. Aurelius was patiently helping Tom to understand a card game, and Sirius was watching them out of the corner of his eyes, pretending to play with a small ball.

"I'll never understand this!", Tom sounded frustrated as he slammed a card down on the pile, "why did I lose again?"

"You need to pay better attention, baby bear", Aurelius responded calmly, picking up the card, "I told you that the seven's count twice, and that you cannot add a three to a four."

"I know that!"

"Then try to remember it next time, Tommybear. Let's try this again, shall we?"

Tom just shrugged, biting his lips, "don't wanna lose again", his voice had gotten quiet, but Sirius was still very much able to hear him. He slowly went over to his brothers, looking at the pile of cards.

"It's a tricky game", he admitted, avoiding to look at either one of them, "I keep forgetting that the seven's count twice."

There was a silence, and then Tom frowned, "the seven counting twice makes no sense", he eventually responded in a careful tone, and Sirius nodded, "yeah, not really. I mean, why not use the five to count twice? Since you have to get at least ten, it would make way more sense."

"Or the six."

"Yeah."

There was another silence, Aurelius watching his two younger brothers in amusement.

"Well, we could play it with the five and six counting twice instead of the seven", he suggested finally, winking at them, "would you boys like to try that out?"

"Sure."

"Okay."

Aurelius stifled a smile, handing out the cards. He did not want to mention the fact that this was the first time the boys were playing a game together, knowing very well it would make them both withdraw from the idea immediately.

"Let's see here…any replacement cards needed?"

"I need one."

"I need one, too."

"Here you go."

They started to play, and Aurelius could see clearly how eager both boys were to win- to impress him and also, to impress each other.

"Noooo, I needed a two!"

"Nice, got you there!"

"That's a ten! I got a ten!"

"Haven't won yet- I also am close to ten!"

"Could I have another card, please?"

They kept playing, and Sirius began to realize that the game was fun- bantering with Tom was easier than expected, and spending time with Aurelius was his all-time favorite thing to do anyways.

Aurelius ended up winning again- with both Sirius and Tom protesting, which then led to Aurelius tickling them both until they were squealing and begging for mercy.

"My sweet boys", Aurelius sounded proud when he pulled them both closer, and the boys quietened down instantly, still trying to catch their breath. They snuggled into Aurelius, enjoying his low praise and the affectionate way he started to tousle their hairs.

"Sweet, sweet boys…", Aurelius repeated softly, smiling when he could sense both of his brothers snuggling even closer, "my perfect, amazing little brothers…"

Sirius was feeling too relaxed and happy to think about the fact that he was anything but amazing- being so close to Aurelius felt just too great.

He feel asleep after a while, with Tom snoring quietly right next to him.

"Time for a nap, hmm?", Aurelius sounded amused, and then he carefully picked them up and placed them on the small bed he had put in the playroom for the purpose of naps.

His smile widened when he saw the boys instinctively snuggling closer to each other in their sleep.

"Sweet dreams, boys", they both got a kiss on their forehead, and then Aurelius left the playroom, still smiling.

Tom and Sirius slept deeply- they often struggled falling asleep at night without waking up again, both of them secretly feeling guilty about the fact that they were disappointing their family with their attitude towards each other- not that one of them would ever admit that.

Tom was the first to wake up about an hour later, and he blinked groggily, not registering at first why he felt so warm.

The realization dawned on him when he spotted Sirius right next to him, still fast asleep.

"Hey! I'm not your personal pillow!", he shook the younger boy a little, and Sirius yawned, opening his eyes.

"What…you…"

"I bet that was Aurelius", Tom tried to sound angry, but failed miserably, "we must have passed out when we…after he tickled us."

"Hmmm…", Sirius mumbled, smacking his lips, "the game was fun."

"Yah."

"But it sucks that Aurelius won again."

"He's faster in calculating cause he's older."

"If we were gonna calculate together, he had no chance."

There was a silence.

"Does that mean…you want to team up? Against Aurelius?", Tom's voice was full of mistrust, "why would you wanna do that?"

"I want to win", Sirius lied, "tired of Aurelius always winning."

"He'd still win if I play with you- you suck at that game."

"I don't!"

"You do!"

"Want to make a bet?"

Tom got up the bed, "what kind of bet?", and now he sounded curious, which Sirius immediately marked as a win, "we play against each other- and then we will see who really sucks at the game."

"Fine. Prepare to lose."

"Prepare to cry."

They both had to grin, but as soon as they realized it, they abruptly stopped grinning.

"Let's begin", Tom said, trying his best to sound professional, "five and six still counts twice, okay?"

"Okay."

They played- for the very first time, they played a game together, with neither of them wanting to admit how much they were enjoying it.

As it turned out, they were both pretty much on the same level, so when there was no winner after almost all cards had been dealt, they both looked somewhat crestfallen.

"Now what?"

"I know- how about a dare?", Tom was grinning again, "I dare you to climb up the bookshelf and get a book from the highest shelf."

The bookshelf was enormous- it covered almost all of the wall, a wooden, heavy piece of furniture.

"You think I can't do that? Watch and learn!", Sirius had to grin as well when he walked over to the bookshelf, and then he carefully began to climb up.

"Highest shelf!", Tom reminded him, "and…uhm…watch out."

"You better watch out!", Sirius grabbed a small book from the highest shelf and threw it at Tom, "there- did it!"

"You still gotta climb back down."

"So? That won't be…", Sirius gasped when his left foot suddenly lost its footing, and he was able to grab the shelf in front of him just in time, "shit!"

"Language, Black", Tom sounded smug, watching him struggle on the huge bookshelf, "need some help there?"

"Not from you!", Sirius spat out, his plan to pretend forgotten over the situation he was in now, "I just…need another minute", he desperately tried to find footing with his left foot, kicking it wildly into the air.

"Another minute? More like another hour", Tom sounded downright gleeful now, and Sirius had to snort, "enjoying this, eh?"

"Well, you rejected my help, so…"

"Don't pretend you were being serious about that!", Sirius hissed down, his anxiety growing. He had no idea how to get back down, and he knew if Aurelius found out what he had done, he'd be lucky if he only got a spanking.

"I was- it was my idea after all", Tom forced himself to say, walking closer, "your…move your foot to the right more, and up…just a little more…yeah, right there."

Sirius did as told, and he did not want to admit how good it felt to finally stand halfway secure inside the bookshelf again.

"There's just three more shelves below you, you can do that", Tom now said, and Sirius swallowed, "uhm…okay. Thanks."

"No problem."

He managed to climb back down, none of them saying another word.

"You…won the dare, so I guess you won the game", Tom mumbled once he was standing in front of him, "good game, by the way."

"Yeah, good game", Sirius echoed.

He kept thinking of Tom's words for the rest of the day- when they ate dinner, when his Dad gave him a bath, and when Aurelius read him a story.

Good game.

It couldn't be this easy, right? To win Tom's friendship?

With only three days left the next day, Sirius tried another approach to win Tom's trust. He had observed that the boy had started some repairs on his treehouse, and when he saw him trying to fix parts of the roof, he slowly walked closer, pretending to be all casual.

"It's too cold for a treehouse now."

Tom looked up, frowning, "I am going to put real glass in the windows and I will get a real door- and then it won't be as cold anymore."

"It would still be cold."

"I have blankets up here."

Sirius was starting to get frustrated. Why, why did Tom always have to talk back? Why was this so damn difficult?

"A treehouse is childish", he eventually said, annoyed by Tom's attitude.

"Well, it's not yours, so why do you care? You are not invited up here."

Sirius stared up to him, trying to ignore the strange feeling in his stomach, "I don't want to be invited to your stupid treehouse."

"Good. I wasn't planning to anyways. Only Relius is allowed to come up here, since he's my only brother."

Sirius swallowed hard, pushing his hands into his pockets- it was getting colder, and his plan was not moving forward at all, but his pride was in his way once more, "fine, stay in your stupid childish treehouse then all by yourself- Relius is busy, so I guess you can just sit there and be bored."

"I am fixing the roof", Tom's voice was quiet, "I am not bored."

"You don't even know how to fix a roof. You'll mess it up and then Relius will be angry with you", Sirius was surprised by the fact that he took no satisfaction in Tom's wincing.

"He wouldn't", Tom's voice was hollow now, holding the hammer in a tight grip in his right hand, "I…I am not experienced, he…he will understand."

Sirius knew deep down that Aurelius would understand- but he could not help but keeping to push, "oh yeah? He'll think you are a failure, that's what he will think!"

He knew he had taken it too far when Tom stood up, his face blasting with fury, "I am not a failure, you…you little parasite!"

"Come down here if you want to solve this like a man!", Sirius spat back at him, and Tom started to tremble, "I wish Aurelius never brought you home!"

"I wish you had never been born- would have been better for everyone!"

And then it happened. Tom had gotten angry enough to storm towards the ladder to the treehouse, still swinging the hammer, and then he suddenly lost control of the heavy tool in his hand, it tossed through the air, and then…

"Aaawwww!", Sirius yelped out in pain when the hammer struck him on his arm, "ooowww! Oooww, this hurts! Hurts!"

For a second, Tom stood frozen, but then he started to hurry down the ladder, his face an expression of distraught, "I…I didn't mean to! I swear, I didn't! Are you hurt? How bad does it hurt?"

Sirius groaned, still clutching on to his arm. Truthfully, the pain was fading quickly, but cunning as he was, he now had the perfect chance to get Tom to like him.

"It's…really painful", he managed to squeeze some tears out of his eyes, "hurts so bad!"

"I am sorry", Tom was standing next to him now, looking like he was about to cry, "I did not want…I did not want to hurt you, Sirius."

Sirius.

Sirius suppressed the sudden feeling of guilt he was experiencing- after all, this was Tom, the one who had stolen everything from him, was trying to be the better brother for Aurelius…

Focus. Focus on the plan!

"I…it's okay, I know…I know you did not want to hurt me", he forced himself to say, avoiding to look at Tom's pale, anxious face, "let's…go inside, okay?"

"Dad has lots of healing potions", the older boy remarked quietly, "I am sure he can help you."

Salazar was able to help- Sirius could not think of any good excuse not to go and see his Dad, since Tom was still very much anxious around him.

By the time he was in bed, the pain was completely gone, and he was left alone with his thoughts after his Daddy had tucked him in and gave him a goodnight kiss.

"Sirius?", the voice sounded hesitant, "are you…asleep?"

"Yeah."

He could hear a small giggle, and then footsteps coming closer, "I…I brought you something", Tom's earnest face was lit up by the moon shining in through the windows, and Sirius realized with surprise what the other boy was holding.

It was his stuffie. Magic Merlin.

"I really am sorry for earlier", Tom said quietly, slowly extending the arm that was holding Merlin, "sometimes…when I don't feel well, Merlin helps me. He…he's a good listener", Tom looked down, suddenly feeling embarrassed, "anyways, if you wanna borrow him for tonight…you can."

The strange feeling in his stomach was back, and Sirius had to swallow, "uhm…thank you. I…yeah, I would like that. But then…you won't be able to sleep with him."

"That's…okay", Tom tried his best to sound casual, but Sirius had gotten to know the boy well during the last weeks, and he knew he was lying.

"You can stay here", he blurted out before he had even thought about it, and Tom's eyes went wide, "you…you mean, with you? Here?"

"With me and Merlin", Sirius corrected, desperately trying to make a joke to avoid thinking about the offer he'd just made, "if you…want to."

There was a silence.

"Yeah, okay", Tom finally mumbled, and then he quickly went into bed next to Sirius, Magic Merlin snuggled in between the boys.

For several minutes, neither of them said a word, since neither of them knew what to say.

"You…were good at the game", Tom eventually remarked, a hint of uncertainty in his voice, "I like our version with the five and six counting twice a lot better."

"Me too. It's more fun that way."

"Yeah, and I think we could win against Relius next time."

"Do you have a tactic?"

"Nah- but maybe we can think of a tactic."

"That might be helpful."

They were both smiling now, enjoying this, and when they finally stopped talking an hour later and Sirius was able to hear Tom softly snore next to him, holding on tight to Merlin, he suddenly realized he would not be able to do it. He would not be able to give Tom over to Pettigrew for Pettigrew to most likely kill him.

And he also realized what the strange feeling in his stomach was: He had started to like Tom.

What do I do now? What in the world do I do now?

yeeeep...Sirius is definitely in a dilemma here...the next and last chap will have the happily ever after, and Pettigrew gets what he deserves (finally!)

I'd love some feedback from you all!

stay safe!

Antonie :)